New York ? The players’ association countered the NHL’s final offer just hours before the season was set to be canceled, proposing a $49 million salary cap Tuesday night.

The NHL had made a take-it-or-leave-it pitch to the union earlier in the day.

On Monday, the players’ association said for the first time it would accept a salary cap once the NHL dropped its demand that league revenues be linked to player costs. This offer lowered its cap proposal from $52 million.

“We wish that the NHL had offered a ‘no linkage’ proposal before yesterday so that negotiations in that arena could have commenced sooner,” players’ association executive director Bob Goodenow said in a letter to commissioner Gary Bettman. “However, we recognize that they did not, and we agree that time is short.”

The league had bumped its salary-cap offer from $40 million to $42.5 million and gave the union until 11 a.m. today to accept. Bettman said if the offer was rejected, the season would be canceled two hours later, according to a letter he sent to Goodenow. In his letter, Bettman said there was no time for bargaining.

“This offer is not an invitation to begin negotiations — it’s too late for that,” Bettman said. “This is our last effort to make a deal that’s fair to the players and one that the clubs (hopefully) can afford. We have no more flexibility and there is no time for further negotiation.”

Teams still would be allowed to spend up to 10 percent above the threshold, but they would only be able to do it twice during the six years of the deal and would be subject to an escalating luxury tax on anything above $40 million.